Didn’t I just post that Cohen was “well” at his well baby appointment 4 days ago??!! Apparently he wasn’t that well. It all started on Thursday when a cough appeared out of the blue. Then he started coughing so hard he was gagging and throwing up. He wasn’t acting sick, nor did he have a fever so we just assumed it was a cold. John wanted me to take him in to the doctor on Friday, but I told him that unless he had a fever they probably wouldn’t do anything. So over then next two days his cough continues but nothing more out of the ordinary is occurring. Then this afternoon he suddenly spikes a 102.5 fever. And of course this happens 20 minutes after QuickCare closes for the day!
So, at 4:35 I took him to the Emergency Room at Gritman. We waited in the waiting room for an hour until Cohen started panting and getting much warmer. A nurse came out to quickly glance at him to see if it was just an over concerned mom issue, or if the baby really needed to be seen. She took one look at him and brought us back to triage. His temp at triage was 103 and combined with his bizarre breathing, he earned a room. This was all too familiar to our ER trip three weeks ago…same symptoms and everything! I breathed a sigh of relief when his oxygen saturation levels were 97-98, and I figured he probably had an ear infection or a cold…something of the minor sort. The nurse said his lungs sounded fine, but that a chest x-ray would be ordered just in case especially since he was here not too long ago for pneumonia.
Well wouldn’t you know….Cohen has pneumonia…AGAIN! Now, it wouldn’t be so shocking to say that the pneumonia is in the lower quadrant of his right lung as that is where it was the first time. HOWEVER, that is not where this bout with pneumonia is. This time around the upper quadrant of his left lung is affected! The ER doctor was concerned with the possibility that Cohen is aspirating when he is drinking because it would be very unlikely for him to get a different pneumonia from the first one, and the placement of the infection points to aspiration as well. He wanted to talk to the on call doctor from Cohen’s primary doctor’s office to decide whether to admit him or treat him on an outpatient basis.
During this phone call Cohen’s O2 saturation dropped to the low 90s, just at the bare minimum. They continued to dance between 85-91, and that earned him a night in the hospital.
We are now settled in to our room and Cohen is resting comfortably. They put in an IV in this time to give him better antibiotics and fluids. He isn’t so happy about it but has managed to adjust quite well to not being able to use that hand. It could be a different story in the morning....Also, due to our horrible experience with the NG tube the last time (think wrapped around his neck 3 times in the middle of the night…) and the fact his levels aren’t too terribly low, he is being treated with blow by oxygen through a tube taped to his crib that is blowing oxygen in his face. The improvement is only slight with his levels hovering around 93-94
As of now, my guess is we will only be here for the night. Fingers crossed! The ER doctor has put in a request for a swallow study, and I’m not sure when that will happen. Cohen’s primary doctor will be in early in the morning for rounds, so we will know more then.
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